The Bendigo Spirit's WNBL play-off hopes look done and dusted after they were denied an upset win over the Melbourne Boomers by a buzzer-beating three-point bomb.
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The Spirit produced a stunning final quarter comeback to turn a 14-point three quarter-time deficit into a three-point lead with less than 30 seconds to play.
The Spirit failed to get a good shot away with their final possession, leaving the Boomers with five seconds to advance the ball the length of the court.
Star guard Lindsay Allen took the responsibility for the Boomers and she broke the Spirit's hearts when her three-point prayer from two metres outside the arc rattled in off the backboard.
Allen's big shot forced overtime and the Boomers outscored the home side 7-3 in the extra period to seal a 71-67 victory.
In a game where both teams struggled to find their groove offensively, Allen proved to the difference between the two teams.
The import guard finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-16 shooting.
Nadeen Payne led the way for the Spirit with 17 points, while Becca Tobin had 12 points and 15 rebounds and Nat Hurst added 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.
The Spirit's effort couldn't be questioned.
The understrength Spirit trailed by as many as 16 points, but they gave one of the WNBL championship favourites an almighty scare in the final quarter.
After struggling with offensive execution in the first three quarters, the Spirit used a lift in defensive intensity to spark their offence.
In a stunning five-and-a-half minute burst the Spirit outscored the Boomers 18-2 to take the lead 59-57.
The Boomers had made just one of their first 13 field goal attempts in the final quarter before Allen made a tough shot driving to the basket to level the scores with three minutes to play.
The Spirit responded strongly.
Marina Whittle made a turnaround jump shot in the paint and then made one of two free throws to give Bendigo a three-point advantage.
When Abbey Wehrung made a lay-up after a smart pass from Whittle, the Spirit led by five points with 80 seconds to play.
Former Spirit guard Maddie Garrick missed a three-point attempt for the Boomers and Bendigo grabbed the rebound.
One more score would have been enough to give the Spirit victory, but a turnover proved costly.
Boomers' centre Cayla George scored under the basket to cut the Spirit lead to three points.
After being so smooth in their offence for the majority of the final quarter, the Spirit went back into their shell on their final possession of regulation.
With the shot clock expiring, Whittle was forced to put up a low percentage shot which missed everything and gave the Boomers and Allen one last shot.
One shot is all Allen needed to put a dagger in the Spirit's play-off hopes.
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